Lounge Chairs by Giuliana Gramigna and Sergio Mazza for Poltrona Frau, Italy, 1970s, Set of 2

Italian designer Sergio Mazza is known for his plastic design and lighting design, as well as his contribution to the Italian lighting design sector made through Artemide, the world-renowned lighting company he co-founded in 1960.

Mazza was born in 1931 in Milan and studied architecture in Lausanne. After graduating in 1954, Mazza opened his own studio. In 1960, he co-founded Artemide with engineer and designer Ernesto Gismondi (born in San Remo, 1931). Their goal was to produce timeless and technically-innovative products. Mazza designed the company’s first successful product, the Alfa Lamp (1959), which incorporated natural and manmade elements of glass, marble, and metal.

Mazza continued to contribute to Artemide’s ever-evolving collections over the following decades, including fiberglass molded seating and other home furnishings for Artemide throughout the 1960s, which were produced for a short period time, and are highly-sought after by collectors today. He also spearheaded the company’s mission to develop distinctive, architecturally-driven lamps, pendants, and other fixtures in collaboration with major design talents from around the world. Notable designs include the Delta Lamp (1963), Mida Armchair (1966), Bacco Bar (1967), the stacking Toga Chair (1968), which is made from one continuous piece of fibreglass and was first shown at the International Furniture Exhibition in Milan in 1969.

In 1961, Mazza split from Gismondi, and along with architect Giuliana Gramigna opened their Milan-based label Studio Smc. Together they designed furniture and other products for Arflex, Artemide, Cinova, Formica, Krupp, Poltrona Frau, Quattrifolio, Saporiti, and Valenti. From 1966 until 1988, Mazza was the co-director of Ottagono, a magazine which played a significant role in supporting contemporary Italian design culture. In 1967, Mazza began designing for the Italian industrial company Olivari.

Over the course of his illustrious career, Mazza received many honors and awards including a silver medal for his Appartamento Italiano at Milan’s 10th Triennale exhibition in 1954, and a Compasso d'Oro for the Delta Lamp in 1960. A model of his Toga Chair is housed in the V&A Museum in London. 

Sardinian-born designer-entrepreneur Lorenzo “Renzo” Frau (1881-1926) founded the enduring Italian furniture brand Poltrona Frau in Turin in 1912. In these early years of the 20th century, Turin was home to an energetic community of vanguard artists, architects, and designers aligned with the Art Nouveau and Arts & Crafts movements popular in London and Paris. Within this milieu, Frau set out to create an artisanal atelier specialized in high-end, leather-upholstered furnishings inspired by the classic, British Chesterfield Sofa. This influence later manifested in a number of top-selling designs in the Art Deco style.

Frau’s wife, Savina Pisati, played an increasingly important role in directing the company during World War I and after. Under her leadership, Poltrona Frau earned an international reputation for excellent quality and sophisticated silhouettes, and, by the midcentury, could be found in aristocratic homes, luxury ocean liners, and parliamentary meeting rooms around the world. Early successful designs for Poltrona Frau included the 1919 Armchair (also called the 128) from the titular year and the Vanity Fair Armchair (also called the 904) from 1930, both still in production today. In 1941, Pisati passed the baton to her son-in-law, Roberto Canziani, who in 1962, under pressure of bankruptcy, sold the company to luxury leather goods magnate and design lover, Franco Moschini of Nazareno Gabrielli Group.

Through the second half of the 20th century and beyond, Poltrona Frau continued to grow and thrive, finding great success especially with armchairs by Tito Agnoli, Achille & Pier Giacomo Castiglioni, Gio Ponti, Michele de Lucchi, Sergio Mazza, Enzo Mari, Massimo & Lella Vignelli, and Marco Zanuso. The company also developed a new business division dedicated to the automotive sector, outfitting luxury cars for brands like Ferrari, Maserati, and Lancia.

The Poltrona Frau Group remains one of the most prestigious design companies in the world, providing an umbrella for a number of other design brands, including Gebrüder Thonet Vienna, Cappellini, Cassina, Alias, Nemo Lighting, Ceramica Flaminia, and Fish Design. In 2014, US-based Haworth Group purchased a controlling interest in Poltrona Frau.

* All images courtesy of Poltrona Frau